Mongolian makuuchi division rank-and-filer Kyokutenho has obtained Japanese citizenship, sumo sources said Friday.
Kyokutenho, 30, whose real name is Nyamjav Tsebenkhuunyajm, became the first Mongolian wrestler to get Japanese citizenship, which would enable him to stay in the sumo world after he retires and become a sumo elder, the sources said. Kyokutenho's Japanese name is Masaru Ota, the sources said, adding that the government announced his newly acquired Japanese citizenship in a bulletin issued Wednesday.
Fellow Mongolian and stablemate Kyokutenzan, the 31-year-old makushita division wrestler whose Mongolian name is Batmunkha Enkhbat, followed suit and also became a Japanese citizen, the sources said.